Race #11 - Bring on the night

For the last NIGHT race of the season, we had a few weeks to prepare.  We took advantage by taking the kart back to Prime Time Racing and had Gary check the front end and other stuff.  In the period between our visits, I managed to get the toe setting off so he was good enough to correct that for us.  We also discussed the apparent high clutch engagement speed.  After reviewing the gauge data and even testing the clutch stall speed on the stand, he agreed that we had a problem.  He offered several corrections we could try but most involved new parts.  This led to another on-line order for new stuff.

When the parts arrived, I rebuilt the clutch and with the adjustment to the rear axle we were optimistic we would see some improvements on the track.  By the way, the old clutch was showing signs of overheating with the "rainbow" coloring on the shoe weight and the drum and the drum slightly belled out at the opening.

Heat damaged clutch parts

The heat races were to start in the late afternoon and then the feature races were scheduled to run after sunset, around 8:30 or so.  Well, the club had a few delays, then we had a red flag during a Junior Sportsman heat that stopped everything for over 30 minutes.  Needless to say, things ran very late.

There were only four competitors in the Restricted Junior class this race.  Lian started second and third in the respective heat races.  Lian was very happy to place where she started in each of the heats, especially when she finished ahead of a certain driver.

The club was pushing to get everyone to get their video cameras out and get a boatload of footage for a new promotional video.  For the first heat, Lian had the GoPro on her helmet - looking backwards!  Here she is leading the third place driver who carried two cameras.

Long shadows during Heat 1 leading up to the night Feature

Curious what the backward cam gave us?  Click here and let me know what you think!

She started the Feature race in second place under the lights.  After nightfall, the dew began to fall and everything was getting damp.  This included the track surface, much to the surprise of many competitors.  Numerous spin outs occurred in all the races.  The club warned all the racers about the track conditions.

The start was interesting for Lian, the first and third place starters got a bit of a run on her and  exited the sweeper ahead of her.  What happened next was a product of a little bit of zealous driving and the moisture on the track.  Here is another great GoPro moment.

Lian went on to finish second!  This was her best finish in a feature race.  We couldn't get her trophy because the last race ended near midnight and everyone was rushing to pack and leave.  We should have an nice trophy shot for the next posting in a few weeks.  Come back and see it!

Race #10

I made a few changes to the kart before this race.  We made a few practice runs at Fremont and noticed that the exhaust pipe seemed to closer to the rear sprocket afterwards.  When I investigated, I discovered a crack in the pipe.  Who knew that problem was underneath the fiberglass insulating wrap?

Not where the exhaust is supposed to come out!

I also was frustrated that adjusting the idle mixture on the carburetor did not have any effect on the idle quality.  Because the idle mixture affects the low and midrange throttle response, I wanted to make sure it was right.  Fearing the incorrect idle jet was installed (I had heard that others had this issue with used carbs) I purchased another one.  Turns out that the jet was plugged and I couldn't clear it so I just replaced it.  Now the idle mix works!

Do flame tips give you a speed advantage?

Finally, I wanted Lian's clutch to engage earlier and with more force so I changed the shoe position on the hub which determines this behavior.  I was hoping to get her better starts.

Lian made her own changes and decided to Flame her hair.  What do you think?

In practice on race day, Lian complained that the kart was really loose.  I adjusted the chassis to improve this but she still felt it was loose.  I told her that the only other change I made was to the clutch and began to think that by engaging harder, she might be getting loose on the throttle application.  I switched her clutch back to the way I had it before.  In Heat 1 she reported that she liked it better.

Lian drew a high number so she started 5th out of five in Heat 1 and started on the pole for Heat 2.  I still didn't think the clutch was right because it appeared to be slipping too much.  You can see it most in this video of the start of the second heat where the second place kart gets ahead right after the flag.  Lian finished 4th and 2nd in the respective heats.  You would expect her to start 3rd in the Feature but she actually tied for third with two other drivers and with the high number she drew, she wound-up starting in the back.

Holding off third place during Heat 2

The feature didn't bring any change to the running order (although she had a shot at passing the 4th place driver).  We have more changes planned for next race.  The practice tires are done, especially the right front.  I knew we would probably need another set before season's end so I just bought and mounted what will be our new "race set" of tires, re-marking the old race set as our "practice set."

We resolved to get the kart over to our consultant, Gary at Prime Time Racing, for a re-check of the front end settings and corner weights.  I suspect we will find some more speed in this thing yet.  Thanks for reading!